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I wrote this post almost 2 years ago, just before my little granddaughter Sofia was born! Since the Autumnal Equinox is on Monday, I thought I would share it again for Fun Friday this week! There are lots of links that you can follow to past craft posts and past recipes.  I will link to a few other ones below.  I hope you enjoy the memories! 

      Hello from California! I am with Alicia waiting for her new baby girl to be born!  Since today is the first day of Fall, we are all working together on our Friday Fave post for our favorite season. I know that some people feel like Fall is the favorite holiday of too many people, so they want to be different. Or, maybe they don't like pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice.  But, around here at 3 Winks, we love the fall for so many reasons.  So, today's Friday Fave question is perfect for us:

What is your favorite thing about Fall?

     It was funny because when I asked my girls this question, Alicia and Lindsey each gave me an almost identical response. They both said that in the Fall there are a lot of things to celebrate and reasons to get together with family.  We have an extra abundance of reasons to get together in our family because all 3 of my daughters and one of my daughters-in-law have birthdays in October. Then, there is Halloween, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving.  As Lindsey put it, Fall signifies the start of the holiday season!  You bake yummy food and spend more time with family.  In many places, not necessarily in Phoenix, the world changes color and the air is crisp and wonderful! You get to start wearing scarves and gloves.
     I was surprised that the first thing that Lindsey mentioned wasn't pumpkins! If you read Renny's Recipes, you know of her love of all things pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.  It was heart warming to see that she and Alicia thought of family first!  But, Lindsey did mention that in the Fall she can eat pumpkin things without being judged!
     Maddy also surprised me. I thought that she would mention Halloween first since she loves Halloween.  That isn't surprising because her whole childhood she had Halloween themed birthday parties.  But, actually the first thing she said that she loves about the season is making Fall crafts.  You can see examples of her crafts here and here!

    Here is what I love about Fall. 

• The weather starts to cool off so there are so many things you feel like doing that you couldn't do all summer, like take walks and bake!
• I also love all of the reasons to get together with family and friends!
• Just like Maddy, I love the fun fall crafts that make everywhere look like a magical place!  Here are some crafts for this season that we have done in the past, here, here and here.
• You get to start eating so many good comfort foods that you don't eat in the summer because it is too hot, like soup, apple cider or Hot Cocoa Bombs!  (Speaking of Hot Cocoa Bombs, be sure to snag the free booklet on our printables page while you can, because soon it will not be free anymore! More developments are coming!)
  

Don't forget to order your molds for Hot Cocoa Bombs here! They are on sale for a good price right now!

     Because we love Fall so much, we decided to make a print to celebrate the season and share it with you, our readers!  We collected all of the things that we love about the Fall and put them into one beautiful reminder created by Alicia!  We hope that you love it!

Welcome Fall! Enjoy the season everyone!  Click the photos below for more Fun Friday Ideas!  (Or any day really!)

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     For those of you who have just joined us here at 3 Winks Design, you may not realize that the reason we started this blog is because of this little creation of ours called Hot Cocoa Bombs!  They are the most delicious and excitingly fun way to drink Hot Cocoa!  This is the time of year when I get in full Hot Cocoa Bomb mode, making them like crazy for an annual craft show.  The craft show has changed this year, but we are still doing one and I have been busy making them again.  It never gets old because:

1. We created them and that gives me so much satisfaction! 
2. They really do taste great!
3. It is so much fun to watch the bubbles when you drop them in the milk and to see the marshmallows rise to the top!  I love it at the craft show when people order one to drink at the show and they drop the bomb in the hot milk and start to stir.  One teenager who was at the show with a robotics club said, " Wow!  We are here doing robotics, but YOU come up with this!  Genius!"  Ha Ha, what a great compliment.  Little kids get so excited with these things, too. 
4. Since creating the original Cocoa Bombs about 4 years ago, We have come up with so many new flavors! Trying new flavors keeps it from getting boring. 
5. Hot Cocoa Bombs make wonderful gifts!  I have sent them to family members and friends.  Once a PTA bought a bunch from us for teacher gifts!  Parents have also purchased them from us to put with a mug as a teacher gift.  

    So, for Friday Faves #80 today, I thought I would do a throwback to some of our favorite Hot Coca Bomb posts and ideas! You will notice how our blog has evolved over these past 4 years as well!    

• Our first post called, "Cocoa Bomber" is when we introduced ourselves and our Cocoa Bombs.  We were sure we would become an overnight Success!  Ha Ha! 
• Then we made a tutorial showing how to make them! How to Make Hot Cocoa Bombs! 
• When we came up with Chocolate Covered Strawberry Hot Cocoa Bombs, we produced a video showing how to make them! 
• Last year we did Gingerbread Hot Cocoa Bombs and made a free printable to go with them!  What a great gift!  Hot Cocoa bombs with a little framed print! Perfect for the holidays! 
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     If you want to make your own Hot Cocoa Bombs, you can go to the above mentioned tutorial and video.  We have also published a Hot Cocoa Bomb Book that will help you with how to make them, the flavors and ways to decorate them! 

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​     I am not a coffee drinker.  But I do love me some good hot cocoa.  And, although here in Phoenix we are still waiting for some nice chilly weather to go with the holidays, the evenings have been cool enough for me to enjoy a Hot Cocoa Bomb here and there. Right now we are in full swing getting ready for the annual Ugly Sweater Express hosted by my DIL's family each year, where we will be selling hundreds of Hot Cocoa Bombs! As I write this post, I am sipping on my newest flavor or Cocoa Bomb, Gingerbread! 
     If you haven't had a chance to go to our Etsy shop yet, you should go.  That is where you can download your own copy of our booklet telling you all about how to make Hot Cocoa Bombs! We have a bunch of flavors besides original Hot Cocoa. We have Peppermint, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Salted Caramel, Cherry Cordial, Cinnamon, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Covered Strawberry and now this year we are adding Gingerbread!
     Because Gingerbread has molasses in it, I added brown sugar to the chocolate mixture that goes inside.  Brown sugar has molasses in it, I suggest dark brown sugar for the best flavor. I did this because I have learned from experience that liquids do not do well inside of a Hot Cocoa Bomb. Next, I put in cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  I put in quite a bit of the ginger and cloves for that extra little tangy kick that you get from gingerbread.  I wanted to find gingerbread men marshmallows, but I haven't seen any yet, but I did find some gingerbread man sprinkles to decorate with! Click on the picture gallery to see how to drink these delicious treats! 

     Sitting and drinking a cup of hot cocoa is a real stress reliever for me.  Getting ready for the craft show and getting my son ready for his mission are just a couple of the things that are keeping me busy. Thinking about de-stressing with a Hot Cocoa Bomb is what inspired me to come up with this little printable sign to hang in my kitchen for the holidays.  You can get your own copy of it by subscribing to our blog! Within a week we will send you the link to our exclusive subscriber's free printables page where you can download your own copy! 

     In order to make the frame, I found these great wooden pine plaques at Michael's for under $3! 

   
     Remember, Hot Cocoa Bombs make great gifts! If you aren't in Phoenix where you can come and buy them from me this weekend, try making them yourself! You can purchase the molds on Amazon.

Or for Christmas, these are super cute.  They have little Christmas character faces on them.  Alicia's MIL, Patricia, took some pictures for us after we made some with Alicia's mold. 

     You could even put together a Hot Cocoa Bomb kit with a mold, our booklet, some chocolate chips, Nesquik and Marshmallows! You could even add the printable above and some mugs while you are at it. 
       And while you are visiting our Etsy shop, you will see a few other things to strike your fancy, like "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" printable and Tea Towel that Alicia just added yesterday! 

     So, make some Cocoa Bombs, subscribe and get a new free printable, give some gifts and enjoy yourself through it all! 
   PS- There are still a few days left to get your advent calendars ready!  Here are some of the ideas we've shared!   
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